The renovation of the residence in Sikinos emerges from strict constraints that allowed almost no alteration to the historic shell. With the façade and volumes preserved, the design turned inward, focusing on what could be reimagined: the ground itself. Careful observation, surveying, and 3D scanning of the house and its surrounding alleys revealed a concept rooted in continuity.

A newly designed floor acts as a narrative “carpet,” extending the experience of the village into the courtyard and through the house. This surface, crafted in microconcrete and inlaid with stripes and motifs of local green slate stone, connects and activates all the temporal layers of the dwelling, reviving latent spaces without disturbing their scale or structure. Some of these spaces are gently adapted to meet the needs of a modern summer home, while maintaining their dialogue with the past.

Movement within the house unfolds as a journey of shifting scales -from small to large, low to high, and back again- echoing the labyrinthine quality of Cycladic villages. Along the street, the linear arrangement of the house creates a sequence of encounters and framed views, sustaining a dialogue between passerby and inhabitant and reinforcing a deeply “Cycladic” sense of interaction.

The design has been approved by the archaeological committee and is entering construction.

Credits

Design Team: Eleni Vagianou, Tasos Theodorakakis  |  Structural Engineer: Antonis Gavalas